Students again opting out of Common Core testing in New York

Common Core testing began in New York State on Tuesday, April 5. Last year New York had the highest “opt-out” rate in the country—20%, or a quarter of a million students in grades 3 to 8. This year may see that rate increase despite shorter tests and unlimited time to take the tests.

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51.5% of students—87,899 students—in Long Island public schools refused to take the test by late last Thursday, with 106 out of 124 school districts reporting, according to reports in Newsday, Long Island’s daily newspaper.

87% of students in Allendale Elementary School near Buffalo, opted out. 86% of students in the Comsewogue schools on Long Island opted out. 89 % of Dolgeville students in the Mohawk Valley opted out. This is according to Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education and a former award-winning high school principal who is fighting Common Core.

While the 2015 opt-out movement was largely white, in 2016 the number of black students opting out has increased, according to Burris.

About 20% of eligible students—about 240,000 students—in New York skipped at least one of the tests in 2015, according to the New York State Education Department.

The opt-out numbers are higher for elementary and middle school students than for high school students. For older students, the scores on these tests are part of the evaluation used by college admissions offices, so there is more reason to take the tests.